So did you come back for metronome tips after Tuesday’s video? Yay! Welcome back!
Last post explained about working with small sections; today’s post will (hopefully!) help you join those small sections together.
Read on for more tips on how to use a metronome effectively, without it being super overwhelming! Dare I say that these tips might even make using a metronome enjoyable? At any rate, be sure to grab a printable metronome progress tracker on the freebie page after you sign up for the email list, because it’s really cool to see the tempo progress you make!
Adding sections together with the metronome
Break it down (again)
- Find where the two parts you’ve nailed meet up. In the example, it connects between measures 2 & 3.
- Start with just 2 beats (again, you could make it even less, depending on your piece).
- Start slowly — if you don’t know where to start, 60 is a good starting point.
Speed up (again)
- Figure out a goal, & speed up this small section to that. It doesn’t have to be all the way to full tempo.
- Make sure to play it correctly 3 times in a row at each tempo.
- You might start at 60 & get the section up to 72 in this step…or maybe 64.
Add (again)
- Next, add 1 beat (or less) before the section you just mastered.
Speed up (again)
- Gradually speed this section up, as you did with just the connecting section.
Add (again)
- Now, add 1 beat (or less) after.
Repeat #3 & #4
- Keep up the cycle of adding one beat before, speeding it up, adding one beat after, & speeding it up until you complete the entire section. In this example, that would be measures 1-4.
Track your progress
- Don’t forget to track your progress so you can see how far you’ve come! Download the black & white version of the printable metronome practice tracker below, or the color version here.
- When you come back to this section, try starting with the metronome a little slower than you ended at the last practice, & work it back up & a little higher.
Do you practice with a metronome? What are your tips or questions? Let us know in the comments below!
-Barbara
P.S. Did you know that I wrote an article about the metronome that was published in The American Harp Journal as part of “The Teaching Corner” section?
Barbara Fischer runs Fischarper, LLC and loves her job as a harpist and private music educator. She enjoys blogging about various aspects of the music field on fischarper.com/blog. For more music resources, check out the Fischarper store. Find out where you can find Barbara on the interwebs here. And you can sign up to receive Fischarper updates by joining the email list.